Review: Walking Shadow by Emma L Adams

Posted January 31, 2015 by Lola in Fantasy, My To-Be Read List, Review / 14 Comments

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Because reading is better than real life

My To-Be Read List is a meme hosted by Because Reading is Better Than Real Life where at the beginning of the month visitors can choose which book I’ll be reading this month. On the first saturday of a month the poll will be up, then on the second saturday of the month I’ll announce the book that won and on the last saturday of the month I’ll post my review of the book.

walking shadowWalking Shadow (Darkworld #2)
by Emma L. Adams

Blurb:
When you have a connection to the Darkworld, nowhere is truly safe.

Ashlyn has found a new home in Blackstone, but when a spate of grave robberies across the country spark fears that someone is practicing illegal sorcery, she comes under the radar of the Venantium, the protectors of the Barrier between her world and the Darkworld, who are suspicious of any sorcerer unaware of their origins.

The trouble is, what Ash does know might just get her killed.

Sufferers of the dangerous condition known as the vampire’s curse are being brutally killed, and the latest victim is Leo’s guardian, the ex-head of the Venantium. Ash determines to help Leo find out what’s really going on, but it isn’t long before events are spiralling out of control. The dead are rising from their graves, and the barriers around Blackstone are threatened by a demon which looks exactly like Ash herself…

My Review:
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Walking Shadow is a fast paced and fun book. It had been a while since I read the first book in this series, but there was enough recap to remind me what happened nad get em back into the story again. There’s some mystery plot going on, there are multiple things, but it felt like one plot. One thing I missed was the opportunity for side plots Everything seems connected and even though it doesn’t make sense at first it seemed part of the same thing. While there seems to be some overarching plot as well, the individual plot in the novels seems to mostly overshadow that one so far. Walking Shadow is a well written book though and the mystery and fast pace kept me turning the pages and wondering what would happen next and how it was all connected.

I am not a fan of zombies in book and while these had an original twists it still wasn’t my favourite part of the book. The whole thing with the doppelganger, shapeshifter, ghoul thing was a bit weird as well and the many different terms could be a bit confusing. Although I did like the twist at the end concerned about it. The plot is a bit predictable, but it was still fun to read.

I did like how while there was a lot going on it still gave the feeling there was homework and school stuff going on as well, it didn’t take over the plot, but there were small hints here and there that still gave the idea that normal school life kept happening as well.

This series has a fun cast of characters and while I like them I always wish we could a little bit more insight into their character. We did learn a bit more about Leo in this book and his guardian, which was fun, although I still felt it difficult to really feel like I know him. I liked having read the novella as it gave me a bit more insight into Claudia and why she uses that fan for example. Berenice and Howard always seem a bit elusive and would love to read a novella from her point of view once. And then there’s Conrad, he was a bit of an annoying character and then at the end, yeah that was weird. I do like the fortune teller, I like how mysterious she is and how she helps the characters.

There was some romance, but it’s so little it was a bit off. I would’ve preferred for it not to be there at all or given a bit more attention as I wasn’t feeling the romance.

There’s some nice pieces of new world building in this book, but it’s really subtle and then there’s a talk towards the end at which some nice tidbits are revealed. I still like the whole idea of the Darkworld it’s really original, although it’s a bit hard to get a good grip on what is possible, with the magic and demons and what the limits are.

To conclude: this was a fun, fast paced and enjoyable story. The focus is mostly on the main plot and there aren’t many subplots, but it kept my interest and I wanted to keep reading. The plot is a bit predictable at times. There is a fun cast of characters, although I wish we would get to know them all better. There are some new tidbits of information/ world building revealed mostly towards the end. This made for an entertaining read and I am looking forward to the next book.

4-star

You can add Walking Shadow to your to-read list on Goodreads.

You can buy Walking Shadow here:
Amazon

Other books I read and reviewed by this author:
– Emma L Adams – Fear’s Touch (Darkworld #0.5) – 4 stars
– Emma L Adams – Darkness Watching (Darkworld #1) – 4 stars

I like fantasy books with an original worlds, so tell me

What’s the most original fantasy world you’ve come across in a book?

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14 responses to “Review: Walking Shadow by Emma L Adams

    • Indeed it’s harder to connect with the characters when you don’t know much of their background. I am glad there was a novella about Claudia, one of the side characetrs, as having a bit of background about her makes you understand and like her better.

  1. This doesn’t sound like a unique story, but nowadays, it’s more about the writing and how it was told than the ideas and concepts used (because originality is really far and few between now), so seeing that four stars makes me want to try this out as well. Plus, zombies~ I love zombies! Haha (don’t hate me, Lola!) Will have to scout book 1 first, though!
    Faye M. recently posted…ARC Video Review: Half the World by Joe AbercrombieMy Profile

    • I don’t like zombies, but I didn’t mind them too much in this book. I justw ould’ve liked another enemy better, I don’t know why, but zombies are just gross and bleigh. It wasn’t a real unique story, but the author still managed to give it a unique touch. I like her writing style and the world building is doen well and is pretty original. I hope you give this series a try 🙂

    • I have read a few books were they were studying, but it wa snever mentioned. Here it doesn’t get much focus, but every chapter there are a few mentions, which really makes it seem like they are on a school and dealing with everything that comes with that.
      And the world building is really interesting and original, I just wish there was a bit more.

  2. It does seem like it is hard to find original fantasy books sometimes. It seems like this one was fast paced and fun, but then there were some weird things thrown in there as well which weren’t too necessary. I think the most original one I read was Dying for a Living by Kory M Shrum when it comes to zombies.
    Olivia recently posted…Olivia’s Catastrophe ~ Romeo & JulietMy Profile

    • I usually stay far away from zombies as they just don’t appeal to me. Overal it was still a fun book and original world building.

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